[ Directed by ]

[ Produced by ]

[ Cast ]

[ Staff ]

[ Production Company ]

DAIEI

[ Distributor (Japan) ]

DAIEI

[ Story ]

Adapted from the original drama by Junichiro Tanizaki, this is the story of the loves and hates of two men and two women, their strange involvement with one another, and how their searing lust affected their lives.
Mumyo Taro (Shintaro Katsu) is a notorious thief who lives with Aizen (Michiyo Aratama), reveling in a life of lust. A beautiful woman of unsavory origin, she knows full well of her powers over men and does nothing all day but enjoy life to the full.
Mumyo waits on Aizen hand and foot and is only too glad to do her every bidding. One day, Kaede (Hideko Takamine), his wife, discovers their hiding place and nothing can make her budge from his side. A strange triangle of love and hate now unfolds in the old temple where they live.
A high priest (Kei Sato) come upon this scene, and Taro, back empty-handed from a foray into Kyoto, decides to steal the priest's gold image of Buddha. But the priest utters a few words of incantation before the Buddha and Taro is spellbound and cannot move.
Just then Aizen enters the room. The priest reacts. She is the very woman over whom he had once fought a duel with a rival, and it is due to her that he entered the priesthood. Smiling mysteriously and telling Taro that she will obtain revenge for him, Aizen leaves with the priest.
Some time later, Taro and Kaede hear Aizen's shrill laughter. They run into the main temple and see her standing almost naked, while the priest grovels abjectly at her feet. Recovering his wits the penitent priest bites out his tongue and dies and Aizen gloats over her victory.
The sight before him is too much even for Mumyo. Torn though he is with conflicting emotions, he takes out his sword and kills Aizen. The next morning, dressed in the robe of a priest he descends the steep mountain road followed by his wife.

【Quoted from the database of Kadokawa Corporation】【Quoted from Unijapan Film Quarterly 1969.12.3】